


Pulling Punches

by Tattoo_Lotus



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Angst, Civil War (Marvel), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 15:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tattoo_Lotus/pseuds/Tattoo_Lotus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after Civil War and Steve and Tony are trying to be friends again but Steve is having issues. During an argument things gets heated and it comes to blows…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pulling Punches

**Author's Note:**

> Written and posted on Live journal on November 2, 2012.

Tony’s eyes are bright with irritation but Steve doesn’t really notice because all he can see is the blood streaming down Tony’s face in a too familiar pattern. For a moment Steve isn’t in Tony’s workshop but back on the streets the sounds of his friends fighting each other in his ears and Tony just lying there a blow away from Steve winning the fight. Steve’s just a blow away from killing his best friend but not really defeating his enemy.

“What are you waiting for Steve?” Tony says and the defiant tones that are there now Steve can’t hear over the broken ones in the past. “Finish it.”

That's the last straw, he knows Tony doesn’t actually remember saying that before and that he might have seen pictures and perhaps shaky footage but he doesn’t remember Steve braced over him or the punch, that was thankfully stopped, because Tony erased himself. His best friend deleted the person he was, killed himself in a way, and the Tony that Steve was angry with and felt betrayed by is just gone. That Tony is dead, as dead as he would have been if the good citizens of America hadn’t stopped him in time. Tony had died and Steve had almost been the one to kill him and that just keeps cycling though his head filling him with a sense of loss and self-loathing.

“Steve?” Tony says and for all that he’s still annoyed Steve can hear worry in Tony’s voice.

Steve realizes that his fist is still frozen ready to follow through and has been since he’s been lost in his own terrible memories. God this Tony will never understand. Steve finely realizes that while he’s been bitter about it he’s actually thankful because Tony doesn’t know exactly how much Steve had betrayed him. Steve relaxes his raised fist and carefully extends his hand to caress Tony’s bewildered face before cupping it around the back of Tony’s head. Steve rests his forehead against Tony’s and closes his eyes for a single shaky breath before opening them again.

Tony’s blue eyes express shock, just a hint of fear, and something else that is always there when he looks at Steve. That hidden thing that Steve has seen in Tony’s eyes only for two other people, Pepper and Rumiko, and he knows Tony doesn’t want him to see it now. It’s too late, Steve has been seeing it for years, he just wasn’t ever ready to do anything about it. Steve’s not sure he is now but when he feels rather than sees Tony swallow in preparation to speak again he remembers Tony laying so still in that hospital bed more dead than alive.

Whatever Tony was going to say gets lost in Steve’s mouth.


End file.
